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Red Print Theater : FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED ! ( 1969 )

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  • Red Print Theater : FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED ! ( 1969 )

    Welcome to : RED PRINT THEATER !!

    This month's selection is …..FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESROYED ! ( 1969 ) !

    Baron Frankenstein, with the aid of a young doctor and his fiancée, kidnaps the mentally sick Dr. Brandt in order to perform the first brain transplant operation. With dire results !

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    Baron Frankenstein travels to a new town to meet Dr. Brandt with whom his has been corresponding and with whom he had hoped to collaborate. He arrives however to learn that Brandt is in a mental institution, having lost his mind completely. He takes a room in a boarding house run by the pretty young Anna who just happens to be engaged to Karl, a doctor who works at the asylum where Dr. Brandt is being kept. When Frankenstein learns that Karl has been stealing drugs, he blackmails him and Anna to work as his assistants. He is desperate to learn a secret that Brandt was going to share with him and kidnaps him with the intent of extracting that secret by transplanting his brain into another body.
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    This is one of the most vigorous of the Hammer productions and features Peter Cushing being uncharacteristically nasty. Even though some of his transplant theories have a certain logic he remains mean and unpleasant throughout with the (again uncharacteristic) rape scene adding icing to the already surprisingly (and ironically) nihilist cake. All the rest of Cushing's violence is aimed at 'getting the job done' but the rape, preceded by it's sexy build is a seeming sideswipe justified simply because in the temporary absence of his fiancée he could. Well dressed, surprisingly well paced and eventful. Not your ponderous Hammer production at all, rather as if its some impostor. Well worth catching.

    ************************************************** *****************************************
    FUN FACTS :

    A crew member is visible just after the water-pipe bursts, about one hour into the movie. As Frankenstein enters the house and walks down the hallway, the camera pans across to the left, and as it does so, someone is seen disappearing quickly behind the doorway to get out of shot.

    When Mrs. Brant and her friend see the picture of Frankenstein and Brant in the newspaper, you can tell it is a recent paper from 1969 when the movie was made, and not the 1800s time frame. Although the news articles are in German, you can easily see words like "American President Nixon." Looks like Hammer's props department superimposed the drawing of Frankenstein and Brant onto a real daily newspaper they bought that day.

    Between Anna being stabbed and her fiancé finding her, the position of the scalpel changes.

    When Professor Richter/the Creature pushes Karl out of the way and picks up the baron, Karl is laying unconscious on the front walk. The Creature then carries the baron into the burning house, and in the following widescreen shot, the front walk is now empty, Karl has disappeared.

    The flowers in Frankenstein's buttonhole change both color and shape between shots when he first invites Mrs Brant into Anna's house. They start as three yellow and purple tulips, change to a purple and orange spray during his conversation with Mrs Brant in the living room, and change back as he guides her down the laboratory stairs.

    When Anna drags the water-sodden corpse into the bushes, a crew member's shadow can be seen moving on the brickwork of the curb to the left of the corpse's feet.

    For its original cinema release the BBFC requested cuts to remove the rape of Anna by the Baron and to edit shots and sounds of sawing during the brain operation. All later video/DVD releases of the film have been fully uncut.

    My print is an Eastman Kodak flat faded color . I really enjoy this version as Peter Cushing is the most dirtiest Doctor I've seen !
    I remember seeing Simon Ward on the " Mike Douglas " afternoon show in 1969 talking about this " New Hammer " film . After that , I just HAD to go see it ! And I actually got a " headache " when Cushing pushes the metal rod into the guy's head ! You know , the same reaction you get from watching " Dr. Pimple Popper " nowadays ! HEE HEE HEE

    A GREAT FILM TO WATCH - JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN !!

  • #2
    I saw this in the theater when it came out. I was disappointed there was no 'monster' in it. Years later this is on of my favorite Cushing Franks. I love the scene where the pipe bursts and the arm comes flying up and out.

    Love those RED screen caps Hard to see any blood at all in there!

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    • #3
      Fantastic read Dave I used to watch all those Frankie films with my dad in the 70's as mum was scared by them.
      A couple of years later I travelled on the London underground (subway) with him going to rehearsals at the BBC. Only thing I plucked up courage as a young boy to say was "Mr Jones" I liked you as the monster" child speak style.
      He was fairly eccentric i recall but nice to bump into him. I used to enjoy my rides in the lifts at the BBC and London Weekend TV as you never knew who you would meet next Diana Dors was very nice who I later worked with for a few weeks.
      Off topic sorry.

      A great feature you have there

      Peter C was a lovely man, no more than that a true human being. Mentioned before but I met him first time round in Whitstable where he lived on the south east coast here not far from our family farm.
      Dad at the time also had a dance band being a drummer, Hammond organist and 3 of Ivy Benson sax players who she used to leg go when they got pregnant. Not guilty!
      That last bit nothing to do with the topic but all part of entertainment at the time.
      A brief chat with Peter. "Now my boy what do you do"
      I play the Ukelele Mr Cushing then he asked me to bring it next time.
      One of the very best professionals in British entertainment and we will never see his like again.
      The next time I.met him he signed the Vellum skin on my Uke Banjo a treasured possession.

      Nice to see you doing some of Peters films on 8 Dave and will be very collectable.
      ​​​​​​​Sorry for romancing again....

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      • #4
        Yes ....he was the SLIMIEST Dr. Frankenstein I'd EVER seen ! ( young , 14 y.o. with ragging teenage Horomones )

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        • #5
          Freddie Jones was a terrific actor who was highly watchable in everything he appeared in (the same is also true of his son, Toby Jones, who is one of the best actors around today).

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          • #6
            Dave, it’s always a pleasure to read Your topics.
            Especially the Fun Facts are so interesting.
            My „hobby“ is to Look out for the Camera Teams in reflections of cars… Like in „DR. NO“ or „TITANIC“.

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            • #7
              As a long-standing Hammer 'nut', I should mention that the film was released uncut in the UK. It was the US version that was shorter, with the controversial rape scene removed, although it's not an explicit scene. I have a nice low fade US TV print that inevitably lacks the rape scene, but also lacks the scene immediately afterwards, which is completely inoffensive and something to do with police searching for the Baron. My print also lacks the sawing sounds, although I'd guess that the US theatrical version would probably have had these. I've asked about several 16mm prints and all have been the cut version, although the former UK Filmbank 16mm library offered the film, so it's possible that they had the uncut version. At one point Derann indicated the film would be released full length Super 8 but it sadly never happened. If it had, they would probably have used the same negative as the Filmbank prints.

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